Ultraviolet ray generator



April 20, 1948. c. E. ATKINS ULTRAVIOLET RAY GENERATOR Filed Feb. 5, 1945 INVEN TOR.

Patented Apr. 20, 1948 ULTRAVIOLET RAY GENERATOR Carl E. Atkins, Elgin, Ill., asslgnor to Sun-Kraft, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application February 5, 1945, Serial No. 576,303 6 Claims. (on. 128395) This invention relates to internal ultra-violet ray therapy, and more particularly to an applicator tube and a circuit for energizing the same.

It is a principal object of the invention to produce or generate ultra-violet ray energy in a slender elongated quartz tube which may be easily inserted into a body orifice for medical treatment under the direction of a physician.

Electrodeless ultraviolet ray tubes have previously been employed for internal therapy, but these have been of limited utility because of the great dimculty in maintaining ionization of the vapor in the tube throughout the entire length of the tube. In previous devices of this kind the glow produced by ionization of the vapor retreats toward the remote or external end of the tube as the same is introduced into the patients body. It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an ultra-violet ray generator of the type described and in which the ionization of the vapor in the tube is substantially unafiected by its introduction into the patients body.

In previous units of this type, the ionization of the vapor in the tube and hence the intensity of the ultra-violet ray generated by such ionization is subject to capricious body-capacity effects resulting from its handling by the operator or physician and it is difficult under such circumstances to initiate or to start the ionization process. In such previous devices the applicator tube was surrounded in its insulating handle with a coil of wire supplied with energy from a suitable oscillator circuit. When the handle was grasped by an operator the thus introduced body capacity served to divert a large portion of the energy away from the applicator tube, thus making it dimcult to start the ionization process and materially reducing it, if it had already been started. This electromagnetic transfer of energy is, moreover, highly inemcient for, as my experiments have demonstrated, the energy was transferred to the ionization discharge by electrostatic field rather than electromagnetic field, and the electromagnetic coil functioned to feed energy into the discharge only, as it provided some measure of an electrostatic field. It is accordingly an object of my invention to provide an ultra-violet ray generator of the type described wherein the body capacity efiects are eliminated or minimized; ionization readily initiated and maintained, and the efiiciency of the energy transfer materially improved.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in connec ion wi h the accompanying drawing, wherein the single figure is a schematic diagram of the circuit and applicator tube embodying the invention.

As shown in the drawing, the applicator tube comprises a thin, pencil-like quartz tube 2 closed at one end and at its other end joined to or integrally formed with a relatively large bulb 4. The applicator tube is sealed at its opposite ends and contains a globule of mercury and a mixture of rare gases at any suitable low pressure, as, for example, a pressure of ten millimeters of mer-' cury. The large bulb-like end 4 of the tube is mounted or secured in an insulating housing 6 which may be constructed of Bakelite, polystyrene or any similar dielectric material having good high frequency characteristics and the required mechanical properties. A metal band 8 encircles and engages the large bulb-like end 4 of the quartz tube and is connected to the wire it) by transmission line or cable l2, the other wire I 4 of which enters the housing 6 and is mechanically fastened or secured to the inner.

surface of this housing at a point proximate the metal band 8.

The cable or transmission line it is of relatively non-critical length-for example, from between three and seven feet long.

The equivalent of efl'ective capacity of the lamp, or terminating end of the transmission line I2, and the line, forms part of the tuning capacity of a, high frequency oscillator circuit l6 operating on a frequency between twenty and one hundred megacycles.

The oscillator or generator is comprises a rectifier tube or diode it having its filament 20 connected by wires 22 and 24 to the alternating current supply lines LI and L2 and its plate 26 connected by wire '28 to the supply line Ll. The cathode 30 of the diode I8 is connected through electrolytic power condenser 82 to the supply line L2. It is also connected by wire 3i to the screen grid 36 of a power tetrode 38 and through wire Ml to the screen grid 42 of a second power tetrode 44! connected in push-pull relation with the tube 38. The plates 46 and 48 of the tetrodes 38 and M are connected to the opposite ends of the tank circuit inductance 58 which has its mid-point 52 connected, as by wire 54, to the screen grid 42 and thence by wires 40 and 34 to the screen grid 36 of the tube 38 andthe cathode 30 of the tube IS. The control grids 56 and 58 of the tubes 38 and M are cross connected through the grid blocking condensers 68 and 62 and wires 64 and 6.6 to intermediate taps on the tank coil 58.

The Commits E8 and 18 of the tubes 38 and M ply lines LI and L2.

are connected to the control grids of the same tubes through the usual grid resistors 12 and H and are directly connected to the supply line L2.

The filaments of the tetrodes are connected in series and through wires 16, I8 and 80 to the supconnected through blocking condensers 82 and 84 to the opposite ends of the tank coil 52.

The oscillator or generator l6 may be mounted or enclosed in any desired form of metal housing, preferably a metal housing constructed as shown in the patent of Frank Furedy No. 2,327,- 346. This metal housing (not shown) constitutes a relatively large conductor and functions as a radiation member. It is employed as a counterpoise to improve greatly the performance of the applicator tube and, for this purpose, the metal housing counterpoise 88 is connected to the control grid 58 of tetrode 44 through a coupling condenser 88.

The coupling condenser 88 ties the counterpoise 86 to the radio frequency circuit and since there is substantial electrostatic coupling, energy supplied to the discharge tube: from the band 8 is transmitted through the patients body and back to the metal housing counterpoise 86, and thence through the coupling condenser 88 back to the oscillator. This arrangement not only increases the intensity of the discharge in tube '44 but by establishing a balance with its sibling (the other half of the transmission line through which a portion of the energy returns to the oscillator) helps to reduce operator hand or body capacity effects and aids in the initiation of the glow discharge in the applicator tube,

It is preferred to employ as a rectifier a 117- .Z4GT diode and as oscillator tubes 50L6GT power tetrodes.

The electrolytic condenser 32 may have a value of from four to thirty micro-farads, while the grid blocking condensers 60 and B2 are preferabl on the order of two hundred and fifty micro-farads, and the grid resistors I2 and 14 of 10,000 ohms each. The coil 50 should be of an inductance such as to tune the oscillator to a frequency within the heretofore stated range of between twenty and one hundred megacycles.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that applicant has provided an ultra-violet ray generator which employs a slender elongated, electrodeless quartz tube that may be easily inserted into a body orifice for medical treatment under the direction of a physician; and by means of which ionization of the vapor in the tube is readily initiated and maintained and the efiiciency of the energy transfer materially improved.

It is obvious that various changes may be made in the specific embodiment of the invention set forth for the purposes of illustration without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiment shown and described but only as indicated in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. An ultra-violet ray generator comprising an electrodeless vapor discharge tube, a metal band about a portion of said tube, aninsulating member encircling said band but in spaced relation thereto, a wire connected to said band and extending from said member and a second wire entering said member and secured to the inner surface thereof, and means for supplying high frequency energy to said wires.

2. An ultra-violet ray generator comprising an The transmission line I2 is electrodeless vapor discharge tube having an elongated small diameter portion for internal therapy and a substantially larger tubular end portion, a handle housing of insulating material enclosing said larger tubular portion, a metal band encircling said larger tubular portion within said housing, a wire connected to said band and extending out of said housing, a second wire secured to the inner surface of said housing proximate said band and extending out of said housing, and means for supplying high frequency energy to said wires.

3, An ultra-violet ray generator comprising an electrodeless ultra-violet ray tube, a metal band encircling a portion of said tube, a relatively low power oscillator having a tank coil connected to said band, a counterpoise capacitively coupled to said coil and cooperating with said band to supply energy from said oscillator to said tube by electrostatic coupling.

4. An ultra-violet ray generator comprising an oscillator having supply circuits and a high frequency radio frequency generation circuit, a metal housing for said oscillator, an ultra-violet vapor discharge tube, a metal band encircling a portion of said tube and connected to the radio frequency circuit, and a coupling between said housing and said radio frequency circuit of the oscillator whereby energy is fed electrostatically to said tube through said metal housing and said band.

5. An ultra-violet ray generator for internal ray therapy comprising a vapor discharge tube having an elongated narrow tubular portion for insertion in a body orifice and a large tubular portion in vapor communication with said firstmentioned portion, a handle housing of insulating material enclosing said large tubular portion. a metal band in said housing and encircling said large tubular portion, a wire connected to said band and extending out of said housing, a high frequency oscillator connected to said wire, a second wire connected to said oscillator, extending into said housing and secured to the inner surface thereof proximate the metal band, and a counterpoise coupled to said oscillator to establish a balance with the connection of said second wire to the oscillator and the handle housing thereby to reduce the capacity effect of the hantube.

CARL E. ATKINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references'are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,326,773 Floyd Aug. 17, 1943 2,073,428 Schmid Mar. 9, 1937 (Other references on following page) UNITED STATES PATENTS Rumba? Country Date 792, 4 France Jan. 9, 1936 gg ig a1 5 45 326,534 Great Britain Mar. 13, 1930 1,338,812 Carlson et a1. 1 May 4,1920 5444312 Germany 1932 2,238,344 Schuler et 31., Apr. 15, 1941 5 OTHER REFERENCES 3 3:3 3x12 13:: Radio Amateurs Handbook, 20 ed., 1943, page 1 1 FOREIGN PATENTS Morecroft, Princ. Radio Communication, 3rd

10 ed. page 921. gggfg x: 33: 22 Schliephake, Short Wave Therapy, 2nd Eng.

503,373 Germany Oct. 33,1923 4 100,071

Australia. Jan. 28, 1937 

